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REVIEW: Stephen King film season kicks off with Cat’s Eye on Horror Channel

Everyone is obsessed with Stephen King as of late, what with it being his 70th Birthday last month and the film adaptation of his legendary novel IT being one of the most hyped up movies of 2017. And the obsession need not stop now that the Horror Channel is showing King adaptations every Saturday at 9pm throughout October.

The network premiere of Cat’s Eye kicks off the Stephen King film season tomorrow night, a horror anthology movie which, if you’re unfamiliar with the genre, sees three or more stories linked together by a single character or theme. Reminiscent of works such as Twilight Zone or Dead of Night, Cat’s Eye ties three of King’s shocking short stories together by the adventures of a stray cat.

The 1985 film sees the feline lead wonder from tale to tale as the viewer witnesses events as if through his eyes. The first story focusses on a smoker named Dick (James Woods) who joins a dodgy self help group in the hope of giving up his unhealthy habit. The second story stars Robert Hays and Kenneth McMillan and sees an adulterous man forced to walk along a skyscraper’s narrow and hazardous ledge by an angry husband. Finally, the third tale is about the young Amanda (Drew Barrymore) who is afraid of a terrifying creature living behind her bedroom wall.

The third plot thread is perhaps the best part of the film. Amanda’s parents blame all suspicious activity on the family cat, but eventually we are led to a thrilling climax in which the pet attacks the dreaded monster the young girl is so afraid of.

We all know the special effects in 80’s films can verge on the ridiculous, but there’s a lot to be said for those executed in Cat’s Eye, each of which calls to a specific human phobia. One of the most hair-raising moments of the movie comes along during the skyscraper scene, in which character Jonny is left hanging from a petrifying height, and the drop from the building is far from looking fake or comical. Prepare yourself for scary sights in the electric room scene as well, not to mention the disturbing gremlin that is revealed in Amanda’s bedroom during the film’s final segment…

Cat’s Eye is a thrilling horror anthology which translates the writing of Stephen King well on to screen. And don’t forget to tune into the other King adaptions this October, as the Horror Channel also broadcasts Maximum Overdrive, Thinner and Children of the Corn every Saturday this month.